Circles
by The Hyper Median
Summary: This story is about an alternate web of time (where have we heard that before?). Trunks, instead of being killed by Sel, was paralyzed from the waist down, and the heart virus took all of Goku's power away. He can't even fly, and is forced to re-learn e


Trunks slowly opened his eyes. The sudden impact of his time machine hitting dirt had startled him, and the sunlight coming through the glass shield was dazzling. He saw someone coming towards him. "Trunks? Trunks is that you?" it was Gohan. He popped open the glass. "Trunks why did you come back? You said you defeated the Androids already!" Gohan asked.   
  
  
"I did? No I didn't. I was trying to get back to my own time so I COULD do that in the first place. I haven't laid a hand on them yet-Wait-Gohan-where¹s your scar?"   
"What scar?"   
"The scar you got when Sel burned you." Trunks said, looking confused. Gohan hesitantly replied "Sel..never..burned..me..."  
"Then what...oh no. No, oh no. I've come to the wrong time.  
You're not the Gohan I know and I'm certainly not the Trunks you know. My time machine is stalled in a web I've never even heard of!"  
Suddenly he was panicking. "Gohan...could my mom...do you you think she can fix my time machine?"  
  
"Uh...I think so. Why don't we ask her? We can sort this all out after we get the machine over there." said Gohan, still a bit in awe. "You're from a THIRD time? Weird!"  
  
"Ah..Gohan...can you help me get out? I'm stuck." said Trunks, a bit surprised that Gohan had not noticed how still he was sitting. Gohan thought that this was very strange but he obligingly flew up and pulled Trunks out of the cockpit. He had started to set him on the ground when Trunks grabbed his arm tightly. "Wait! Gohan, I can't stand!" He pulled Gohan down as his own legs crumpled uselessly beneath him. "I can't stand because...I'm paralyzed." he said, wincing.   
  
  
  
"Whoa, sorry! I had no idea! So that's what you meant when you said you were stuck." Gohan put Trunks' arm around his shoulders and helped him up. "I hope you don't mind me asking. but how did that happen to you? You weren¹t like this in my time."  
  
"And I guess I'd already beaten the Androids and gone home too. Well, I think the only way to explain how it happened is to tell you the whole story." As they flew off to Gohan's he started to explain. "..You see, when I came back to see if the Androids where under control I found out that some mutant named Sel had messed up the flow of time...that happened here too? Good, then I won't have to explain about Sixteen. Well, I decided I should probably start training since Goku was still sick. The others needed all the help they could get...."  
  
  
* * *  
This is the other Trunks' story:  
  
**flashback**  
  
"Its all my fault." Yamcha was saying. "If I hadn't dropped the rest of Goku¹s medicine he would have been awake by now."   
  
"Yamcha, regardless of what happens to my husband you can't hold yourself responsible. You're the one who brought him back to the house anyway or he wouldn't have gotten any. Besides, I know my Goku. He be fine." Chichi replied calmly. "Now go outside, and wait with the others, I'll tell you when he wakes up."   
  
"She must be confident," thought Trunks "She put great emphasis on the word 'when'. I'm glad I'm not Yamcha though. I'd feel terrible."  
He went back outside to train.   
  
"Tein left to fight Sel!" said Krillin as Trunks walked outside. "I guess he couldn't wait for Bulma any longer. I¹m going to try to meet her half way. See you later." he took off.   
  
  
"I'm going to leave too." Trunks said to Yamcha. He knew his father was going to be training in the hyperbolic time chamber and he wanted to be there also. He sped up into the sky, higher and higher, eager to reach Kami's in time to meet his father.   
  
  
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone, Goku was waking up. He blinked. At first everything was fuzzy, but slowly his vision cleared and he realized where he was. "Oh...I'm at Master Roshi's." And then he tried to sit up. "Ow!" he yelled. "My back is so stiff!"  
  
("Actually his whole body was. He'd been sleeping five days longer in this than he had in yours, Gohan." Trunks explained.)   
He pulled himself up to a stand and tentativelty began to walk. Soon his strides became more and more confident until he was racing around the room at the speed of light.   
"I better start training. I'm probably way behind. Now, where's that window?" he climbed out and jumped to the ground. "Huh. I meant to start flying..." he muttered. "Oh well." he turned to face the ocean. "Ka..meh..ha..meh..HA!" he shouted, but nothing happened. He looked at his hands. "First I can't fly, and now this? Eh, It must be a fluke." he said, trying to reassure himself. He backed up a little and tried to fly again.   
WHUMPF! He was greeted with a mouthful of sand. "Plech! Eww!  
Even I can't eat THAT!" he took a few steps back and made a running leap. KERSPLASH! He fell face-first into the salty ocean. And everyone on the island heard him hit the water.   
  
A minute later he resurfaced, gasping for air. He crawled up onto the beach and shook the water off in the same fashion a dog would. "Why? Why can't I fly? Why can't I use any of my powers?" he said, getting more frustrated. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!" he started frantically trying to jump even just a little bit off of the ground. But to no avail. Apparently the heart virus had robbed him of all his abilities.   
  
"Well, then I guess there only one way left to get off of this island." He looked up at the sky. "Flying Nimbus, come to me!" The little golden cloud buzzed into view and streaked right across the sky to Goku. It zipped around him making delighted chirping sounds. "Gosh. I guess you¹re happy to see me, huh?" He jumped onto it and they sailed across the sky. The little puffball was literally singing with pleasure.   
  
"C-Could we slow down a bit? I'm getting sick to my stomach." the Nimbus reluctantly slowed to a cruise. "Ugh...thats better." It became apparent that Goku had not been flying in a Looong time.  
  
(Meanwhile)  
  
Trunks arrived at Kami's. ("Of, course, Kami wasn¹t there anymore because he had merged with Piccolo.") He strode up to the others. Mr. Popo was standing there, along with an incredibly bored-looking Gohan. "WHY do I have to WAIT? I want to help fight Sel but I can't if I haven't become a super-saiyan yet." he moaned.   
"In due time, Gohan. You should wait for your father though." Mr. Popo replied.  
"Hey, Trunks! Is my dad awake yet?" Gohan asked.  
"Nope. He will probably be here the instant he wakes up though, so I wouldn't worry. Has MY father come yet?"   
"Yeah." said Gohan, sighing. "He just did." he pointed to Vegeta. Trunks walked over to the time-chamber, where Vegeta was standing..  
"You're lucky you got here before I went in, I wouldn't have waited."  
he snapped, to put Trunks in his place. Trunks sighed.  
  
  
  
(Back at Roshi's)  
"Goku? Where are you? I know I heard him a minute ago. Goku?" Chichi was looking around the room. Then she noticed the widow open. "That is so like him to just fly off. He didn¹t even tell me he was awake!" she thought for a moment. "This whole thing must be more serious than I thought, for him to just leave the way he did...." she went back downstairs trying not to worry.  
  
* * *  
  
"Now, you have to remember, none of us knew what was wrong with Goku yet. We all thought he was on his way to Kami's. That was when Dende said Goku was actually heading in the complete opposite direction from us! Well, you can imagine that everyone was VERY confused. That didn't stop my father from going into the time chamber though, so of course, I had to follow him" Trunks continued, as Gohan listened intently.   
  
* * *  
  
"Wow, Why isn't he going to Kami's?" Yamcha had sensed Goku going the wrong way too. "I'm gonna follow him." he said to Roshi as he took off.   
Master Roshi looked up from his magazine.   
"Oh...heh heh, right, good luck" he went back to reading. Oolong snorted.   
"Dirty old man."  
Puar sighed and flopped onto the sand to wait for Yamcha.  
  
  
Yamcha was faster than the nimbus, and soon caught up to it.  
"Goku? You're flying THAT thing?" he exclaimed. Goku turned. He hadn't sensed Yamcha at all. And the Nimbus took great offense in the remark and shot off like a rocket, with Goku barely hanging on.  
  
(Meanwhile...is an incredibly overused word)  
Gohan couldn't take it anymore, he wasn't about to sit and wait for Sel to finish Tein. He flew down to earth again, and went to face Sel. Alone.   
  
Krillin picked up the controller from Bulma. Then, sensing what Gohan was about to do, he went to stop the wayward boy from making a costly mistake.  
  
"You can fight Sel yet, Gohan! You'll get killed- Wait!!!" he followed Gohan through the air, trying to think of as many reasons as he could why Gohan shouldn't fight yet. Gohan kept speeding up, trying to stop Krillin from following him.  
  
("Then Yamcha realized what Gohan was attempting as well.")   
"Oh no!" Yamcha stopped midair. "Gohan's gonna fight Sel!" he exclaimed.   
  
"What? He can't!" Goku pulled the Nimbus to a stop and turned around. "Are you sure?"   
"Yeah, can't you sense him?" asked Yamcha, stunned. Goku swallowed.   
"Goku..." Yamcha began to put the pieces together. "Why are you riding the Nimbus?" he asked, to confirm his fears. Goku didn¹t answer. "Tell me Goku. It's important. Tell me why you're not flying by yourself!"  
  
"Because...I can't." said Goku, and then he turned away.   
  
"Wait! Goku, why didn't you tell us?" Yamcha flew in front of him. He didn't say anything but Yamcha could tell it was because he was ashamed. "You should have told us Goku. We had no idea what was going on."   
  
"Its not just flying Yamcha. I can¹t use any of my powers." He looked at his boots. Yamcha's expression was one of great concern.  
  
"Come on, we're goin' back to Kami's." Yamcha stated firmly. "Someone'll know what you should do." Goku sighed.   
  
Far below them Gohan had reached the place where Sel was. Krillin followed him across the island to where their freakish opponent was standing. "What's thish?" Sel saw them coming, and remarked in his Sean-Connery-with-Larengitis accent: "Likkle children are coming to fight me? How sad. I shall have to dishpose of them quickly if I want to catch up to Eiyteen."   
Next to him was Tein's lifeless body.  
  
* * *  
"Curse that wretched windbag, its his fault I can't walk." said Trunks suddenly.  
"You mean he was the one...?" Gohan asked. "Yes. He was. But I'll get to that later. You were about to face Sel..."  
  
* * *  
  
  
"Tein..." Krillin murmured. They both were silent. Then Gohan stepped forward.   
  
"I may not be able to save Tein," he said "but I can still avenge his death!" he was furious. "Do you hear me Sel? I'm-going-to-make-you-pay!!!" he flung himself at the monster.  
As he did this Goku felt a slight twinge of pain in his head. "Did you feel that?" he asked Yamcha hopefully. "Oh yeah! Gohan just attacked Sel!!!" Yamcha exclaimed.  
  
"He did?"   
"Man, you're really out of aren't you! Well, at least you sensed SOMETHING." They flew on. Every-so-often Goku would wince as he slowly became able to sense power levels again. It made his head hurt.  
Soon he was able to perceive more and more, he could sense Piccolo, and Chaozu, and all the others. However he also had a horrible headache and his mind was buzzing with a thouzand different signals.  
  
"You ok back there Goku?" Yamcha asked, when Goku started to lag behind.  
"What? I can't hear you, my head is ringing!" he said a little too loudly.   
"Nevermind."   
"Huh?"   
"NEH-VUR-MYN-DUH!" Yamcha shouted, the force of the scream nearly knocking them both over.  
"OH-KAY!" Goku shouted back. This soon turned into a game and when they reached Kami's they where both positively bellowing at each other.   
Piccolo goggled. "What EXACTLY...?" They both turned   
"WHAT?!...uh, I mean...what?" they chorused, and then both began to snicker.  
"Nevermind." this tragic choice of words sent them both into hysterics. It was sight to see. Goku fell right off the Nimbus and Yamcha was holding his sides.   
  
"I-haha-thin-aha-that I¹m-heeheehee-gonna-d-d-aha-die la-la-laf-aha!" Yamcha tried to say, but he was laughing too hard. Goku was laughing so hard that he was crying. Tears streamed down his face.   
"Y-yam-ha-yamch--hahaha! I don't ahee-think I can-ehe-ha-stop-haHA!" he was rolling with glee. Finally they both contained their laughter enough to stand, though they were still giggling.  
  
"What on earth is wrong with you two?!" Piccolo blurted out, which nearly set them off again.   
"You wouldn't believe it but the original conversation was quite depressing." said Yamcha. Goku nodded solemnly. "And then YOU had to go and say your ears where ringing." he said to Goku in mock-severity. Goku snorted.  
  
"I'm not even going to ASK." said Piccolo, shaking  
his head. Then he added, "Gohan is fighting Sel." They looked at each other.   
"We know." they both stopped and were quiet. "I don't think I need to remind you that he could get killed." said Piccolo sternly, which brought them back to the seriousness of the situation. "You're right." said Goku, wondering what to do next. He couldn't fight, so what else was there to try?   
  
  
Gohan ducked as a wave of pinkish energy raced past him, nearly clipping his hair. He fired a round of light-blasts back at Sel. Suddenly Sel became a ball of living fire and he ran straight into Gohan.   
He started punching at him with his flaming fists. Gohan dodged and leapt but he wasn't fast enough to match the speed of his attacker. A good punch to the face sent him spiraling towards earth.  
  
Piccolo and Yamcha took off to help him at this point. No one wanted to see another death. They arrived quickly, Goku behind them, and watched Gohan slowly get up. He had a hand over the right side of his face and he looked like he was in tremendous pain. He bravely managed not to cry. "I'm not going to back out this time!" he thought furiously "I'm not going to let everyone get hurt because I'm too afraid to help them!" he thought about all the times he'd let everyone down. He was so angry he couldn't see straight. "I¹m not going to be the scared little kid anymore" Gohan almost shouted it out loud. His hair turned to golden-blonde, his eyes became teal. He was a super-saiyan at last.  
"Whoa..." Yamcha was speechless. Goku smiled proudly at his son.  
"Gosh," he said quietly. "He's so much stronger than I was at his age."  
When Gohan removed his hand his other eye was shut. Across that part of his face there was a horrible shiny-red burn.  
Goku knew that that Sel could still finish Gohan off because he was hurt. He thought to himself angrily "Gohan is going to get killed, but I can't do anything to save him because I lost my ability to fight. I can't even help my own son because of a stupid virus!" He was suddenly furious. A shock of electricity pulsed through him, making his hair stand on end for the briefest moment.   
Sel turned around. "Vegeta couldn't come? Thatsh really too bad. I wanted to finish him off too." he flew straight at them, and they all scattered. Of course Goku wasn't fast enough and-"Gotcha! So...you're Goku. I wouldn't have exshpected YOU to be the slowest." He pulled back his arm to throw a punch but Goku pulled free from his grasp and stumbled back a few steps.  
  
"Why doesn¹t he fly away?" Krillin asked Piccolo, as Piccolo landed next to him. "I¹m not sure...but something is definentally not right. I don¹t like this." the namick replied.  
Yamcha watched Goku nervously as Sel leapt forward and began to attack him. Goku tried to avoid the punches but was only able to jump a few feet. Sel clearly had the upper hand and was getting all the hits in. He was slowly bringing Goku closer and closer to the edge of the rocks. When Goku looked behind him all he saw was a steep canyon drop. It had no visible bottom.   
  
"Nothing and no one could survive a fall like THAT." said Krillin. "Why is Goku still standing there?" At that point Sel realized why Goku hadn't moved. His evil feature broke into the most hideous grin. Yamcha knew what he was planning next.   
  
"Guys we've got to do something! Goku isn't fighting because he CAN'T!" and they realized that this was true. Goku might have been a bit careless at times but he wasn't a fool. He would have done something by now, if only he could have.   
  
Gohan rushed forward. "No!" he tried to reach his father but Sel stopped him. "You're not getting in the way thish time little pest." he flung the boy off into the sky. "Gohan!" Goku watched helplessly as Sel threw his son. "Now then, itsh your turn, Goku." Sel dealt Goku a hard blow to the stomach. Goku reeled backward, right over the brink of the chasm. He began to plunge downward, faster and faster.  
  
"Daddy!" Gohan cried, leaping forward. Sel refused to let him let him past. Goku desperately tried the only thing he could think of. "Ka...meh..ha..meh.......HA!" he shouted, and miraculously, it worked! Thought it wasn¹t very powerful. The thin thread of blue light slid down the canyon walls and hit the earth. Goku popped back up like a ping-pong-ball over a hair drier, giving Piccolo just enough time to catch him.  
  
"You're crazy, you know that," said Piccolo seriously, but unable to mask his nervousness, once they had landed. "You could have been smashed to bits!" Goku didn't speak. He had fainted from the effort of his kamehameha wave. Gohan just stood there, and Sel cursed.   
  
Then, thoroughly disgusted that he was still no match for these people, flew off to absorb Eighteen. Trunks and Vegeta finished their 'year' in the time chamber and followed him.  
  
"Krillin, can you bring Goku back to the island?" asked Yamcha.   
"Sure thing." Krillin took Goku from Piccolo and flew him away from the battlefield.  
  
* * *  
He was interupted by Bulma, who had been trying to fix is time machine for the last half an hour.  
"Its gonna take another day or two to fix, Trunks." she said, coming into the room. Her shirt was covered with dirt and oil and exhaust and she was holding a wrench in one hand. "Ugh. I'm going to take a shower. I'll work on it some more later." she walked back outside to put the wrench away.   
  
"-And thats when Sel got to his final form. I couldn't stop him, I don't think anyone could have, ultimately. Thats also when he got the idea for the Sel games.  
Anyway...." Gohan was staring. "Thats what really happened!.....wow...."   
"It gets worse...much worse."   
  
* * *  
Trunks flew back to Kami's to warn the others of Sel's plan, but Piccolo already had. Goku was nowhere in sight. "Where's Goku?" Trunks asked. "He hasn't woke up yet. Lets just hope he can pull himself together in time for the 'Sel games'." Piccolo answered. He was still a bit annoyed at Goku for letting himself fall off of a canyon wall. Not to mention that it had shook him up to see the strongest guy he knew almost get killed.  
  
Krillin was shaking Goku. "Come, come on! Wake up!" he muttered nervously. Chichi came running in with a glass of water.  
"Here!" she splashed its contents onto Goku¹s face. He spluttered.  
"Oh, good," said Krillin, calming down "You're awake." Goku opened his eyes, then quickly shut them again. He sat up, but didn't speak.  
"Goku, are you ok?" Krillin asked.   
"It's my fault Sel got away." he said at last. "I let everyone down."   
"Goku..." Chichi started to say.  
"No, don't. It really is my fault. I should have gone straight to Kami's, but I didn't. I've ruined everything."   
  
"Goku, Its not too late to stop Sel, you can still get your powers back." Krillin said. "I know you can." Goku sighed and stood up.   
  
"I guess it doesn't hurt to try." he said, with a small smile. He followed Krillin outside. Chichi stopped by the door and watched him try to perform a kamehameha wave again.  
"Come on Goku," she whispered. "You can beat this!"  
  
Krillin made a wave of light to counter Goku¹s feeble Kamehameha wave, hoping Goku would block it by making his wave stronger. Goku caught the blast but had a hard time stopping it. He started to skid backwards.   
"Goku, send it back!" Krillin shouted. Goku tried to push it away but he couldn¹t find the strength.  
"I've got to fight it!" he felt his muscles tightening. "Got to fight. . . "  
he didn't know how much longer he could block the attack. He was getting weaker and weaker. In his frustration he he thought about his dream again. About being helpless, about watching everyone die. "No!" he shouted "I can't let that happen!"  
He felt his power surge with his anger, "Ka..meh..ha..meh..HA!" he tried once more. Krillin ducked. There was a flash of light. The next thing Krillin knew Goku was hovering above a large crater. His hair was gold again.  
* * *  
"It took a while but Goku was able to learn how to use his power again. He and you went into the time chamber for a while and finally, after much preparation, we flew to the arena that Sel had created. To fight the last battle."   
"The fight must have been a lot different in your time." Gohan mused.   
"I don't know what happened when you fought Sel, but in my time it went like this:"  
  
* * *  
Sel was standing in the middle of the ring. Some imbecile by the name of Hercule was sitting OUTSIDE the ring clutching his head. There was a big dent in the rock face nearby that was shaped like Hercule's ridiculous hair. You get the picture. They all landed next to the ring, causing a news reporter nearby them to faint. He'd never seen people flying before.  
  
"Who wants to go first?" Sel asked boredly.   
"I will." said Goku, stepping up.  
"Ah. . .I can tell you've improved." said Sel, sounding almost pleased. "This will be a good fight."   
The others watched them flying high above, moving almost too fast to be seen. By 'normal' people, that is.  
("They fought long and hard. At one point Goku actually blew half of Sel away, but Sel regenerated. It was a move borrowed from Piccolo. After that Goku really struggled, and eventually-"  
"He put me into the battle, I know."  
"Yes, and then Sel threatened to blow up the whole planet right then.  
That was when Goku used his instant transmission to teleport Sel away just seconds before he blew up."   
"And my dad died."  
"Yes." said Trunks quietly.  
"I thought so." Gohan had been hoping maybe he¹d lived in the other time.  
"When Sel returned he pointed his finger at me, to blast me away.Yet somehow, his aim was off. I lived."   
"And thats how you got er-paralyzed?²  
"Yes."  
* * *  
Knives of pain where stabbing at Trunks, so much that he wanted to scream out loud. Yet his voice was dead in his throat. He watched his father fighting Sel. "They think I¹m dead." he wanted to shout "Yamcha, Krillin! I'm alive!" but the words wouldn't come. He knew he would perish soon if they didn¹t get him to a hospital, but they thought he already had. His head began to feel heavy. "I've got to live. . ." Gohan was fighting now. The huge ball of light between them looked as if it would blow any minute. His eyes blurred with tears of agony. Then Yamcha and Krillin were attacking Sel too. And then, if it wasn't enough of a sight, his own father, Vegeta joined the fray. They almost had Sel beaten! They just need one more push. Trunks slowly raised his hand.  
"As long as there is breath in my body. . ." he gasped, repeating a line he had used before "I will fight you Sel." he pointed his finger. The beam sparked and sizzled as it hit Sel, and the android was pushed to his limits.   
"Nooooo.....!" Sel screamed as his body was ripped apart. And then he was gone. For good.  
"Now, Sel, you know how it feels- oh!" Trunks' arm went limp again. His vision began to cloud over.  
"Where did that last wave come from?" someone was asking. And then "Is he...is Trunks BREATHING?" Yamcha's face appeared above him. It looked far away. "You guys, he's ALIVE!!!" Yamcha shouted. Then several faces where swimming over Trunks. They were talking but he couldn¹t hear what they were saying. He welcomed the warm darkness that slipped over him as his thoughts ebbed away into unconsciousness.  
  
In his dream Trunks saw Sel again, he was pointing his finger... Suddenly someone grabbed Sel's arm and threw off his aim. . . the scene played over and over in Trunks' mind. In his sleep he caught snatches of conversation going on outside his room. "Who stopped Sel. . .?" they were asking "Trunks. . . would have died if they hadn't. . ."   
"Who saved me?" Trunks dream played over again. "Who?" And there he was once more. Watching Sel point at him. Everything was moving so slowly, as if it were underwater. And he saw. . .   
  
(Back in reality)  
"Why doesn't he wake up?" Bulma wondered nervously. Her son had been in a coma for twenty-four hours now. "I'm worried. He's really hurt." she choked "He's lost a lot of blood. Maybe we should bring him to the hospital."  
"Nonsense!" Vegeta answered, aggravated "He's come this far hasn't he? No son of mine is going to a . . .a HOSPITAL. Ugh! . . . Besides, they wouldn't have Saiyan blood there." he folded his arms and turned away.  
"I know that, but I think that there must be something more we can do." Bulma's voice got quiet. Vegeta didn't answer.  
  
(Thirty minutes later, at the hospital)  
"We didn't need to come here." Vegeta snapped. "Its a colossal waste of time." Bulma ignored him. She knew Vegeta was just nervous, she was watching her son's heartbeat on the monitor. It was making noise in rhythm. Beep, pause, beep, pause. . . The nurse came in. Vegeta sneered.   
"I'm afraid there's not much we can do. We can't do anything until his condition stabilizes, and he's pretty badly wounded. What caused this injury anyway?" she looked suspiciously at Vegeta.  
"He smothered a bomb, now get out of my face!" he snapped. The nurse retorted with a curt "You shouldn¹t raise your voice around these sick patients, it stresses them out." then she left.   
"What does she know?" Vegeta erupted. "These people are asleep! And I'll yell if I WANT TO YELL!!!" Trunks' pulse went through the roof: bebebebebebebebebebebebebeep!!! Bulma gasped.  
"She was right! Trunks? Can you hear me? Calm down, nothings going to happen." she said soothingly. Trunks pulse slowed slightly, but was still above normal. He was breathing very hard.   
"Trunks?" A blonde girl poked her head into the room. "Trunks, is that you?" She placed her hand on his wrist.   
"Trunks?" she whispered softly "Its me, Miko." he became suddenly calm.  
His heart rate returned to normal. "Everything is going to be ok Trunks." she squeezed his hand. Even though he was asleep, Bulma could have sworn she saw Trunks smile.  
"I don't know who you are. . ." said Bulma "But, I have to thank you. He seems well, for the first time since what happened."  
"I'm a friend of Trunks," the girl replied. "From the future. I came from Sel's time. I wanted to make sure history didn't repeat, and I couldn't let Trunks die twice." trailing off, she turned to leave. "You'll tell me when he wakes up then? I have to warn him of something."  
Bulma nodded. The girl left. Vegeta stalked off muttering something about fresh air.  
  
Two hours later. . .  
Trunks opened his eyes. Gray shadows danced above his head. Slowly, he became able to make out the ceiling tiles. Pain washed over him in tides. He groaned and sat up. He tried to pull his legs out of bed and discovered they where as limp as spaghetti. There where huge bands of gauze wrapped across his midriff.  
A dinocap sat on the table next to him. It read: wheelchair. Realization struck him like a hard blow to the lungs.  
"I'm paralyzed?" his voice cracked. Bulma opened the door, and seeing him awake, rushed over to him.  
"Trunks? Are you alright? I was so worried. . "  
"Mmf. Mom, you're hurting me. What happened? Why am I here?" he slipped from her grasp and fell back onto his pillow, quite surprised that he had called this woman 'mom.'  
  
"Can you move your legs? Try to stand." she asked, pulling away. He didn't move. "Do you feel them at all?" She pinched him. That is, he saw her pinch his leg; he felt nothing. It was pretty certain that he would no longer be able to walk, to run, or to swim again.  
  
She sat down on the floor next to his bed. "Your father is outside. I guess he needed some fresh air. That man has always hated hospitals." she looked at the wall.  
"She's avoiding the subject." Trunks thought. "She's feeling sorry for me. I hate it." to break the uncomfortable silence he asked loudly. "Can we please go home? This place smells like glue!"  
"Was there a second time machine?" she asked suddenly.  
"Huh? I don¹t think it was finished, why?"  
"No reason. There's a girl outside who wants to see you. She's blonde. Wears a cowspotted headband..." she didn¹t even finish her sentence because at that moment Trunks forgot all about his legs and jumped up.   
  
"MIKO!" he attempted a run and fell flat on his face.  
"Ouch." he stumbled once more before remembering he could fly. Then he dashed out the door. She heard him knock over a table in the hall.   
"I still can¹t fly straight." he said when she came out to see what had happened.  
"You should use your wheelchair." she responded.  
"NEVER!" he took off again.  
Miko, as she was called, was standing down at the corner of the hallway. "Trunks!" she exclaimed, and she rushed over.  
He grinned, "Miko! It IS you!" she pulled him up off of the floor and squeezed him. "(Ow, ahh) Miko! (Ouch) How did you get here?" She let go suddenly and he toppled backwards onto the floor.   
  
"You're hurt!" she said at once. "What happened to you." her voice suddenly filled with concern.   
"Thats not important right now!" Trunks said, waving Miko¹s comment away.   
"I'm glad you came to, I was worried I'd have to go back home without knowing if you were ok." she said, as she helped him up.  
"You have to leave, why?" he asked, crestfallen.  
"When I left Peirin and Kitty had gone to fight the Androids. I'm worried they might have. . ." she trailed off and looked at her feet. Trunks wished there was a time where nobody had to live in fear, he would have taken her there. But then, he would have done anything for her.   
  
Before another word could be spoken there was a loud cracking sound from above them. A piece of plaster from one of the fake tiles hit Miko on the head. The ceiling said 'Meep!' Trunks had never heard a ceiling say anything, especially not 'meep.'  
"Lookout!" he and Miko jumped out of the way just before two people went crashing through. WHUMP.   
  
"Owww! Heh heh, hi Miko!" The green-haired girl picked herself up. "Fancy meeting you here." she said sheepishly. The other girl was still sitting on the floor, there was a tile on her head.   
"Looky! I got a new hat! Heh, heh. . " she trailed off. Miko frowned.  
"What are you doing? You two confuzzle me." she said, shaking her head.  
"Would you believe, fixing the roof?" the one with the tile on her head asked.   
"Ok, ok!" the other exclaimed. "So we were eavesdropping!" Miko laughed.  
"You followed me." she grinned "I should have known."  
"YOU two came too?" Trunks asked, amazed.  
"Too, too true, we came, us two." said Peirin, poking fun at his excessive use of the word.  
"We were racing the carts!" Kitty jumped up and pointed to one, forgetting about her 'hat.'  
"For the last time, they¹re called gurneys!" Peirin exclaimed. Kitty sighed. The three girls from the futurenow turned and grinned at Trunks.   
"Soooo. . . now what?" asked Peirin, looking around. "When can you get out of here?" she kicked an empty can of diet soda across the floor.  
"Well, I'm supposed to stay here for another whole day." he said, rolling his eyes.  
"Thats no fun." said Kitty. After that none knew what to say. They started to walk down the hall. No one spoke, but to Trunks the silence was deafening.  
  
  
Due to the fact that he couldn't walk, he had to hover his way around. They didn't ask him if he wanted a wheelchair, though, because they knew he didn't.  
However, when they returned to his room Bulma was adamant that he use it.  
"I'm not going to let you float around like that, its odd!" she exclaimed. He sighed heavily and sat down.  
"I feel so pathetic, do I have to roll around on this stupid chair?"  
"Of course you do, you're paralyzed!"  
"I feel like a cat being forced to sit in a stroller."  
"Its for your own good, now stop whining." and that was the end of the discussion.   
  
He was in his own clothes now, instead of a hospital gown, and was no longer in pain. Yet he was still paralyzed. He wheeled himself down the hall silently.  
"How am I gonna fight the Androids if I¹m in a wheelchair?" he wondered aloud. He wanted to stay in this time because it was so peaceful, but he knew he would have to leave. "What if the Androids kill me? I can't fight like this!"  
He didn't know what to do next. The chair made squeaking sounds on the pavement as he went out the door and away from the hospital. Miko came outside too.  
"Where are you going Trunks?" she asked.  
"I don't know. I was just taking a ride." he couldn't say taking a walk, he though ruefully,because he wasn¹t walking.   
"Mind if I join you?" she asked.  
"Go ahead." he replied, and then frowned because he had to use the handicapped ramp to get to the sidewalk.  
"When are you going back, to your time I mean." she asked him.  
"Huh? You mean...you're from a different..." he asked, crestfallen.  
"Yes...I'm from Sel's. When he stole your machine I came to the past trying to stop him. I thought I should, since thats what you would have done."   
"You mean, in your time I'm..." that possibility had never occurred to him. For the first time he realized there was a web where HE had been the one who died. The thought made him feel lightheaded and confused, and even a little bit sick.  
"Then I won't see you again?" his heart sank into his boots. She wasn't his Miko, although she acted just the same, she wasn't.  
  
"So then, was it Sel that hurt you?" she asked. he nodded. "I suppose you're going to go back to your time, and I'll have to go back to mine." she finished. She too seemed disappointed.  
  
They didn't say anymore until they got back to the hospital, when she said goodbye.  
"I'll see you off tomorrow, when you leave." Miko said.  
³Alright. I'll see you too." he replied, unable to think of anything else to say.  
  
When he returned to his room, where he would spend his last night at the hospital, Trunks saw that the nurse had changed his sheets. After he'd gotten ready for bed Bulma had said good night and closed his door. He lay back on the pillow and breathed in the stale smell of it. His stiff blanket was like a plastic bag around him.  
  
He was tired, dog-tired. Trunks wondered if not-walking took more energy than walking did. He closed his eyes and sank into a fitful sleep.   
  
In his dream he was in the time machine again. Flying past familiar places, watching them change with time. New buildings appeared, then disappeared, more quickly, as the time of the Android¹s arrival came and went. The machine slowed to a stop. He was home. Trunks flew out and had a look around. Something was different. No matter how decrepit, his home had always seemed warm to him, but now he felt unwelcome and alone. Everything was so cold and empty. There was nobody inside the house. It was as if all life had been stifled. He kept looking.  
  
As he flew on, he looked down, and thought he saw a hand sticking out of the ruin of a demolished building. He landed, and came closer to the spot where he thought he'd seen it. He lifted some of the debris away. Filled with dread, he looked to see who it was.  
  
The capsule corp logo on her shirt gave it away. His mother's cap was also askew, her arms limp at her sides. Her eyes closed in quiet death. No breath came, she remained still as he held her hand. He looked up and saw that there were others.  
  
He lifted some bricks to discover the lifeless bodies of countless more. Among them Peirin, and Kitty, and a man he had seen on a street corner once before. Only days before he¹d left. And, and as Trunks kicked a brick, he saw one more person.  
  
It was Miko. He ran to her. A slight breeze picked up, rustling her hair. She wore a quiet sort of smile. She was still warm when he touched her face. He thought he would break.  
  
That was when he woke up, panting. Cold sweat ran down his back. He sat up.   
"It was a dream." Trunks whispered to no one. "It was just a dream." yet it had been so real. He floated out of bed and got dressed. Then walked out of his room.  
  
The halls were empty. The clock on the wall read 2:01 AM. Trunks didn't feel like sleeping anymore so he hovered down the hall. He read the names and the numbers on the doors as he passed, and wondered why all those people were here. He passed the cafeteria, which smelled funny, and picked up a little box of cornflakes. He thought about his dream, and what it might mean. It made him realize how precious life was. It also made him want to go home again. He was vaguely worried that his dream might have come true.  
  
Trunks pulled out the capsule that held his time machine. Fear welled up inside him, flooding all his thoughts.  
"Not yet," he said, putting it back into his pocket. "but soon."  
  
(Later)  
At about six in the morning the hospital seemed to awaken from its deep slumber. Yawning and stretching, doctors and patients alike opened up all the countless doors of the hallway. Trunks met Miko, Peirin and Kitty outside his door and they walked out of the building.   
  
Bulma met them at the door. "Where's your wheelchair?" she asked.  
"I doubt it would fit into my time machine." he replied.  
"Oh, you're leaving?"  
"I have to, remember? The Androids."  
"Right. Well, goodbye then." she said forlornly.  
"Yeah. . ." Trunks found himself feeling the same way. He had come to like this new time. He and the others from the future headed away from the city to a clearing where they could use their time machines.  
  
"So, I guess this is it then." said Peirin, as she watched Trunks' capsule tumble open.  
"We're gonna miss ya." said Kitty awkwardly.   
"Yeah, I'll miss you too," he said, thinking of Miko in particular.  
Miko pulled out a capsule and threw it. BOM! And there in front of them was a time machine very much like his own, but with small differences on the sides, and it was a different color. "Kitty calls it the 'Teal machine'" said Miko.   
"'Cuz its teal!" Kitty exclaimed. He stared.   
"Wo-ow." The Teal Machine glistened in the sun.   
"One more thing," Miko pulled out another dinocap. "Here. Don't open it 'til you get to your own time, ok!" she winked.  
"This is for me?" amazing, even when he was in another time she thought of him. "Ok. I won't." he smiled, and gave her a hug which almost made him fall out of the air. Then Trunks hopped into the cockpit of his time machine, and Miko stepped into hers. Kitty looked at Peirin.   
"Shall we?"  
"Shall you what what?" asked Trunks.  
"Downsize. Its a move I¹ve learned. I figured if Piccolo could find a way to increase his size, there had to be a way to decrease." she pointed first at Peirin and then at herself. "Downsize!" there was a flash of blue light, and two tiny figures appeared where the girls had stood. Trunks laughed. Kitty and Peirin flew up and sat on the dashboard of the Teal machine.  
"Goodbye." said Trunks as he closed the glass. Miko mouthed her farewell through the screen too. And in a flash of light and a burst of sound they departed.  
  
* * *  
  
He didn¹t tell Gohan about Miko, Peirin, or Kitty or his dream. He just said he¹d woke up and been paralyzed. Gohan didn¹t need to know the rest, it didn't affect his time. Gohan looked dazed.  
  
"So, there's nothing you can do? You¹ll never be able to walk again?" he swallowed. Trunks shook his head. "Thats too bad. Well, good luck fighting the Androids I guess." said Gohan, getting up.  
"I'll need it." he looked out the window. There were squirrels hopping about in the yard. Trunks loved squirrels, although he couldn't say why. It must have been how funny and perky they were. He wasn't normally to cheerful himself so he admired those who were. Even if they were only squirrels.  
  
The next day Bulma finished working on his time his time machine, though she didn¹t have the right kind of fuel for it. Once again he found himself waving goodbye to a time he was fond of, most likely he wouldn¹t see it again.  
  
  
In a few minutes he was back home, this time he'd made it. He flew into his house. "I'm back." he called. His mother looked up from her laptop.  
"Trunks, you're finally here. What kept you?" she hugged him tightly.  
"I accidentally ended up in the wrong time when I tried to come back." he said "But I guess I got it right this time."  
"What wrong with your legs?" she asked, noticing for the first time.  
"Well, I'm paralyzed from the legs down. I got blasted by Sel and. ." he trailed off.  
"Oh no! Trunks, my poor Trunks, you really can't move at all?"  
"No. . .I can't. My legs are totally numb." he said sadly.  
³Trunks,² Bulma said, looking worried. ³There's something I have to tell you too.²  
"What?" he felt nothing could be worse than being paralyzed at this point.  
³The Androids came and they destroyed all of the buildings downtown. .²   
"Curse them!" he didn't care that he was paralyzed. He was too angry. He took off to find the Androids.  
  
They were standing suspended over a wrecked building, look down at it. Trunks was consumed with rage. He became super-saiyan and stopped in front of them. "I've had it with you two! It stops here!" he spat.  
"Don't you remember last time? The only thing that stops here is you!" said Seventeen grinning maliciously. They attacked him, but he managed to destroy Eighteen. Seventeen looked at him wide-eyed.  
"You'll pay for that! You're no match for me on the ground!" so he knew about Trunks' legs.  
The Android shoved him down, watching with insane pleasure as he hit the pavement. Then diving on top of him. Trunks tried to escape from Seventeen's grasp, but he couldn't move. His legs were like lead. They didn't even bend, and he heard his bones breaking. Fortunately he couldn't feel it.  
  
He pushed away with a wave of energy and became airborne again. Then he quickly disposed of the vile machine. Then he surveyed the damage around him.  
  
He couldn't believe it. The dream, buildings, the emptiness, it was real. His mother was still alive, but the rest were all gone. Miko was gone. He swallowed several times. Then he remembered: the capsule! The one Miko gave him. He pulled it out and looked at it.  
  
Once he was alone, he popped it open with trembling fingers. It was a trans-dimentional communicator. He COULD see Miko again! , though not in person. He flipped it on, half expecting it to break in his hand.  
"Hey!" said Miko, waving. "What took you so long?" she was smiling. If she were not years away from him he would have kissed her.   
  
* * *  
Back in Gohan's time( the one who got burned) many years had passed. He was in his last year of high school, and little Trunks was being enrolled in elementary school. Everything after the fight with Sel went just like the time you and I know, up until this point.  
  
Trunks ran through the house and dropped his backpack on the couch.  
"How was school?" Bulma asked.  
"It wasn't what I had expected." he said, landing on a chair. "Can I go to the park? I said I'd meet my new friends there."  
"You made some friends, thats good news. Well, sure, what are they like?"  
"Well, two of them are Saiyans, and all three of them can fly. They're pretty near as strong as I am too!" he said, getting up and walking to the door.  
"Saiyans? They're SAIYANS?" Vegeta, who had been half listening from the other room walked in.  
"Yeah. They don't know how though."  
"What are their names?" he demanded.  
"Miko and Peirin, the human is Kitty." Trunks replied. "Why?" Bulma blanched.  
"Its them!"  
"Them who?" asked Trunks.  
"Nevermind, you wouldn't remember." she said, still shaking her head.  
Vegeta didn't look pleased, but said nothing.  
"Oh, ok." Trunks bolted out the door, leaving his parents to guess what it all meant. All he knew was Miko was waiting at the park so the park was where he wanted to be.  
  
  
The End, or is it? ::ponders:: yeah, it probably is.   
  
(And if you must know, Trunks still defeats the Androids) 


End file.
